The Wreck We Made
by Durgas Dragon
Summary: Nursey only agrees to come because Bitty threatens to smother him in his sleep with a key lime pie before he buries him in the Lax bros' back yard, and Chowder is swearing up and down that he'll give Bitty a rock-solid alibi for both the murder and the body dump.


**The Wreck We Made**

 _ **Disclaimer: This is a purely fan-made piece that is using the world and characters from Ngozi Ukazu's**_ **Check Please!** _ **, and is made entirely for enjoyment. No financial gain has been made in the making of this piece. All other situations and plot developments are mine.**_

 _ **Summary: "Nursey only agrees to come because Bitty threatens to smother him in his sleep with a key lime pie before he buries him in the Lax bros' back yard, and Chowder is swearing up and down that he'll give Bitty a rock-solid alibi for both the murder and the body dump. Quite frankly, he doesn't see what the big deal is—everyone is way happier with the new arrangement, but according to Bitty and Chowder, this is causing a 'rift' within the team and it's up to them to fix it."**_ **  
**

 _ **'Haus 2.**_ _ **0' and its aftermath. No Hollywood endings here.**_

 _ **Author's Note: I read 'Haus 2.0' and it made me ANGRY. I fury-wrote something and it was no good, but it led me to write this instead, so…yay? Got the title from the song 'Happier' by Marshmello and Bastille. Possible out-of-characterness and un-beta'd.**_

 _ **Constructive Criticism is always welcomed**_

 _ **Published: 4 December 2018**_

 _ **Rating: T**_

 **Nursey only agrees to come because Bitty threatens to smother him in his sleep with a key lime pie before he buries him in the Lax bros' back yard, and Chowder is swearing up and down that he'll give Bitty a rock-solid alibi for both the murder and the body dump. Quite frankly, he doesn't see what the big deal is—everyone is** _ **way**_ **happier with the new arrangement, but according to Bitty and Chowder, this is causing a 'rift' within the team and it's up to them to fix it.**

 **Whatevs, it's chill.**

 **The Haus is suspiciously quiet when he makes his way down to the kitchen—a quick glance into the living room proves it to be empty—and Nursey wonders what Bitty did to make the hockey team clear out. It probably involved some pie and passive-aggressive hinting.**

 **He goes into the kitchen, and much to his annoyance, discovers that he's the last one to arrive. What's worse, fuckin'** _ **Whiskey**_ **is there, sitting next to Dex and eating pie. "What's** _ **he**_ **doing here?" He doesn't care how hostile he sounds, the damn sophomore has** _ **no**_ **right being here! The asshole is there purely to mess with Nursey, like he did with the first game that Nursey got to play once his cast came off (the little fucker** _ **sat**_ **in** _ **Nursey's**_ **seat on the bus and totally fucked over his pre- and post- game rituals).**

 **"Emotional support," Bitty says, smiling in a way that's supposed to be bright, but really is just frightening. "Have a seat and some pie!"**

 **Whiskey somehow manages to be smug while chewing and Nursey wants to punch him.**

 **But the sooner he plays nice with Bitty and Chowder, the sooner he can get out of here. So he follows Bitty's instructions and pokes at his cherry pie angrily.**

 **"So!" Bitty announces when nobody says anything and only glares at either each other or their food. "I think y'all have something to say to each other. Nursey, why don't you start?"**

 **"I don't have anything to say." If anything, it's** _ **Dex**_ **who should have something to say,** _ **not**_ **Nursey.**

 **Chowder actually** _ **rolls his eyes**_ **while Bitty's smile shows even more teeth than it had previously. "Maybe you want to rephrase that, honey?"**

 **Nursey scowls, but recites in the most insincere and disingenuous tone possible "I'm sorry."**

 **"** _ **For…?**_ **" The small captain prompts after a few moments, gripping the pie server a little** _ **too**_ **tightly.**

 **Nursey works hard to make his voice sound even more rehearsed than before. "For purposely driving you from my—excuse me,** _ **our**_ **room."**

 **Dex stabs his piece of pie sharply. "I** _ **told**_ **you this was going to be a waste of time, Bitty," he mutters.**

 **Bitty glares at them. "Perhaps Nursey wants to try that** _ **again**_ **. Third time's the charm, yes?"**

 **"Don't bother," Dex says tiredly. "Let's just get this over with." He looks up and meets Nursey's eyes squarely. "Nurse, I'm sorry that I neglected to mention that I have a mild form of OCD that gets worse when I'm stressed, and that I'm also on the spectrum. I should have told you about both of those things before we moved in, and I didn't, which is my fault, so you have my apologies."**

 **Nursey stares.**

 **"Are we done?" Dex asks Bitty. "Because I have better things to do with my life than to listen to people treat me like—"**

 **"Wait a sec!" Nursey blurts out. "You're on the spectrum? As in, ASD?"**

 **Dex's shoulders hunch. "Yeah. My counsellor finally convinced me to get tested at the beginning of the school year, so it's official now."**

 **Suddenly, things come together in a way they hadn't before. Why Dex nearly throws a tantrum when they lose a game. Why he's so sensitive to certain sounds and smells and textures. Why he's so damn** _ **concrete**_ **with things. Why he has so much trouble with change. Why he excels at things that have clear instructions and boundaries.**

 **And shit, Dex is seeing a** _ **counsellor**_ **? Since** _ **when?**_

 **Nursey abrupt realises that, all this time, he's been telling Dex to** _ **chill**_ **.**

 **Well,** _ **fuck.**_ **He's the biggest ass on the face of the planet Earth, and quite possible, in the entire** _ **universe**_ **.**

 **"Why didn't you tell me?" He finally asks, hurt.**

 **Dex shrugs. "Because I didn't think it was any of your business, and because I didn't think it was going to be such a problem."**

 **Whiskey puts his hand palm up on the table and Dex grabs it, his large, scarred hand completely enveloping the forward's smaller one.**

 **Something jagged cuts harshly through the curly-haired boy and he feels all his hurt instantly turn to anger. "So what, you'll hold** _ **Whiskey's**_ **hand and you'll tell** _ **him**_ **about this sort of thing, but I can't pat your back or be friendly with you at** _ **all**_ **and you won't tell me important shit like that?"**

 **Dex gives him a look of furious disbelief. "I don't like being touched by other people, but Whiskey always asks if he's going to do it, or he lets me know that it'll be okay if I want to touch him. You** _ **never**_ **fuckin' ask. Hell, even if I told you to, you** _ **still**_ **wouldn't because you trample over my boundaries all the damn time!"**

 **"I do not!"**

 **"You do too!"**

 **"Name** _ **one**_ **time!"**

 **"My Fortress of Solitude!"**

 **"You** _ **never**_ **said—"**

 **"I told you it was so I could have my own space! I** _ **called**_ **it 'My Fortress of SOLITUDE'! What was the first thing you did after I told you that? It was violate my space and ignore my boundaries!"**

 **Okay, so if it was phrased** _ **that**_ **way, Nursey could sort of get it, but still. "I just wanted to see what you'd done!"**

 **"And you didn't ask! Never** _ **once**_ **did you say 'Hey Poindexter, that looks interesting. Can I see what you did?' or anything like that!"**

 **Nursey crosses his arms. "If I had, would you have let me?"**

 **"No, because I'm not** _ **obligated**_ **to! If you tell me 'no' about something, I try to respect that, but never** _ **once**_ **have you offered me the same curtesy in return! I say 'no', and it means that you should just go ahead anyways! It's** _ **all**_ **about** _ **you**_ **, all the fucking time! You're the most entitled,** _ **selfish**_ **person I have ever met!"**

 **"** _ **Entitled…!**_ **" Nursey starts to roar, but Dex is on a roll.**

 **"The whole time I lived in the room, you treated me worse than dirt and you** _ **actively**_ **tried to get me out of the room, even though I pay the same amount of rent as you did and I had just as much right to be there as you did! I know I wasn't the perfect roommate, but at least I** _ **tried!**_ **I told you when things bugged me, I tried to not do obnoxious things like leave my light on when you were sleeping or play my music too loudly, I took my turn cleaning the room and bathroom without complaint, and I never touched your stuff, no matter** _ **how**_ **much it was annoying me!" The redhead's colour is high and his knuckles are white from how tightly he's gripping his fork. "Tell me** _ **one**_ **think you did to try and make this situation work!** _ **ONE THING!**_ **"**

 **"I brought you pie—"**

 **"You mean the** _ **pie**_ **that you hid under my bed where I would never think to look for it instead of putting somewhere visible, like say, my** _ **desk?**_ _ **THAT**_ **pie?"**

 **Again, when phrased like that, it really makes Nursey sound like the bad guy. "Would you have preferred that I put it on your bed?" He snaps.**

 **"** _ **Yes!**_ **At least then, I would have** _ **seen**_ **it!"**

 **There really isn't a good response to this that will work in Nursey's favour, so he switches tactics. "So it's** _ **my**_ **fault now! Just like everything else that goes wrong in your life—it's** _ **my**_ **fault!"**

 **"I don't blame you for everything wrong with my life," Dex says furiously.**

 **"Yeah, right! Everything out of your mouth towards me is an insult or a criticism!" And it's totally not fair. "It's always 'don't do that, Nursey, you can barely walk straight', or 'what the hell is** _ **this**_ **', or 'what is your** _ **problem**_ **'," he nasally mimics, infuriated at everything—Dex,** _ **Whiskey**_ **, being forced to do this, Lardo, Chowder, Whiskey being allowed to** _ **hold Dex's hand**_ **while** _ **he**_ **isn't, the whole dibs system, Bitty, that fucking coin, Dex,** _ **knowing he could have had a chance**_ **— "But forgive me! How was I to know all those** _ **lovely**_ **and** _ **helpful**_ **comments weren't illustrating how positive you find my presence!"**

 **"I think," Bitty says loudly, "y'all are getting away from the point here."**

 **"Yeah, yelling at each other isn't going to help," Chowder put in.**

 **"I don't know," Whiskey shrugs and Nursey resists the urge to rip his arms off. "I think they're both saying things that need to be said, and they're clearing the air. If nothing else, they'll know exactly where the other one stands."**

 **Nursey notices a bit of movement and realises that Whiskey's thumb is** _ **petting**_ **Dex's hand. The rush that blazes through him makes him lose part of the conversation, and it takes an immense amount of strength not to lunge across the table and jam his fork into the sophomore's face.**

 **He manages to come down off of his rage enough to catch the tail end of what Bitty's saying. "—So I was thinkin' that if you decide to stay in the Haus, Dex, your rent should reflect your new…living quarters and Nursey will pay what Lardo used to because it's clear you two aren't gonna live together—"**

 **"I never said that," Nursey interrupts mulishly.**

 **Bitty pinches his forehead as everyone gives the broad d-man a look of complete disbelief. "Nursey, you just made it clear that you feel that Dex unfairly blames you for things, and you admitted earlier to purposely being a terrible person to get Dex to move out," Bitty speaks slowly, as if he spells it out carefully, it will make Nursey understand. "Unless you plan to say 'I'm giving up my room entirely', I don't see how havin' you two share again is going to end differently."**

 **"I didn't have all the information before," Nursey points out. "For all I knew, Dex was being a bigger dick than usual because** _ **he**_ **was trying to get** _ **me**_ **to leave!"**

 **"Nursey, you couldn't** _ **pay**_ **me to live with you," Dex says, sounding tired again. "You pretty thoroughly burnt that bridge. Be happy. You won. I'm moving out of the Haus. It's all yours. Congratulations."**

 **Since Chowder looks as surprised as Nursey feels, this is news to him as well. "What? Where will you live?"**

 **"Not that it matters to you, but I'm moving back into the dorms. Whiskey and I are going to be roommates next semester."**

 **They are** _ **never**_ **going to find Whiskey's body.** _ **Ever**_ **.**

 **Bitty has a concerned expression on his face. "Are you sure? I mean, I know you were hopin' to be in the Haus to save money."**

 **"Trust me when I say that it'll be worth it," Dex says dryly. "I'll have sunlight, a real bed, shelving units that are actually level, privacy that goes beyond a flimsy shower curtain, and I won't have to listen to the water heater squeal every time someone uses hot water. Plus, I won't have to worry about the mould killing me anymore." He suddenly smiles slightly. "And Whiskey's got a sister on the spectrum, so I know I'm not going to scare him off too badly."**

 **Nursey is going to make sure there isn't enough** _ **left**_ **of Whiskey for anyone to find ever again.**

 **Both Chowder and Bitty blink. "Oh," Chowder says. "I didn't know that."**

 **Whiskey shrugs. "She's non-verbal, but she's wicked good at jigsaw puzzles. And you should see her hockey card collection. It's pretty 'swawesome."**

 **"Huh," Bitty murmurs. He's quiet for a moment, then he shakes himself. "Well, I guess that solves** _ **that**_ **. Now, are you two gonna be able to play together or is that gonna be something we have to work out as well?"**

 **"You don't have to worry about," Dex says before Nursey can come up with anything. "When Nursey was out, I practiced a lot with the other defencemen, and Bully and I are pretty good together. He's still got a lot to learn, but I've already asked the coaches to put me in his line. So unless Bully can't play, you don't have to worry about it."**

 **They are never going to find Bully's body, either.**

 **"But—" Nursey starts to say, but Bitty is already talking.**

 **"Good! I'm glad that's taken care of!" The small blond looks at everyone at the table sternly. "Now, I want y'all to tell the team that we've gotten this all squared away, so everyone'll stop pickin' sides and dividin' the team. I don't want things to get to this point again, so the next time you two fight, I'm gonna get the coaches involved, and it ain't gonna be pretty. Have I made myself clear?"**

 **Nursey sullenly nods and refuses to look up to see if Dex is doing the same.**

 **"Wonderful. Now shake and make it official."**

 **Dex** _ **finally**_ **lets go of Whiskey and hold his hand out. Nursey clenches his fists for a moment before he forces himself to take the freckled hand and gives it a quick shake. He lets go as soon as he can because Dex doesn't want him touching him.**

 **He shoves his chair back and gets to his feet.**

 **"Aren't you gonna eat your pie?" Bitty has the gall to look** _ **hurt**_ **.**

 **"Not hungry."**

 **"Well, if you insist…but before you go? Just know that we're gonna have a conversation in the very near future about the fines you've accrued with your actions in this entire thing."**

 **"Whatevs," Nursey says snidely before stomping off to his room.**

 **He flops down in his beanbag chair and glares at the ceiling. He knows that everyone expects that he's ecstatic that the room is his and his only, but it feels like a pyrrhic victory. He has the room, but he's lost any chance of** _ **anything**_ **with Dex—they aren't roommates, they aren't housemates, they're not linemates, they aren't defensive partners any more—they can barely even call themselves** _ **teammates**_ **and he can kiss the idea that they might ever become** _ **friends**_ **goodbye.**

 **The part that burns the most? Nursey brought this entirely on himself.**

 **And now he has to live with himself.**

 **It's a bitter brew to swallow.**

 **He looks around the room, with its strange empty spaces that he left for Dex's things when he came back, and…** _ **hurts**_ **.**

 **For the first time in his life, he wishes he had the foresight to loss the battle, because then he might have won the war.**

 _ **x Fin x**_


End file.
